Early morning skywatchers were treated to quite a spectacle as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral and streaked northeast across the predawn sky.
The launch occurred at 5:10 a.m. Tuesday and was visible throughout the Mid-Atlantic thanks to clear skies. As the rocket climbed higher, its sunlit exhaust plume created the appearance of a glowing "space jellyfish" against the still-dark sky.
"This occurs when a rocket and its expanding exhaust plumes are illuminated by the sun while observers remain in local darkness," explained the X account Space Jellyfish Alerts, which tracks launches capable of producing the phenomenon.
Because the rocket reached high altitudes while the sun was still below the horizon in the Mid-Atlantic, it was visible across a wide swath of the eastern United States.
Here are some photos and videos of the spectacle shared by Capital Weather readers:
Starlink launch over Virginia this morning.
— Peter Forister 🍁🍂🍁 (@forecaster25) July 14, 2026
📍Skyline Drive, Crozet, VA pic.twitter.com/8Umo2hxvlT
Wow!! Doesn't get much better than this! @SpaceX rocket launch over Richmond, VA. #vawx @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/D1TeMznxG1
— Bill Hark (@WTHark) July 14, 2026
Predawn @SpaceX #Starlink launch as seen from Virginia Beach courtesy of @spacejellyalert #vawx @capitalweather @JeffEdmondsonWX pic.twitter.com/Mjm3rXtOJL
— John Mitchell (@jsmjr) July 14, 2026
Olney, MD - This morning’s video captures a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites climbing into low Earth orbit. The rocket’s high-altitude exhaust plume was illuminated by the rising Sun creating the brilliant streak across the predawn sky. #MdWx #Wx @capitalweather… pic.twitter.com/XKgnw9EdKN
— MyDrone.Pro (@MyDronePro) July 14, 2026
